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A big thumping Colorado-bladed spinnerbait slowly rolled along the bottom is a top bass catcher in cold murky or muddy water.

A bass’ metabolism is slowed down in cold water so the fish don’t want to move far to chase bait and its vision is impaired because of the off-colored water, which makes a spinnerbait with a lot of flash and vibration an ideal lure to throw in this situation. A 3/4-ounce spinnerbait with a number 6 Colorado blade generates plenty of flash and vibration for bass to hone in on in the dirty water. The heavier spinnerbait is preferred because it sinks faster and will stay closer to the bottom during the retrieve. Switch to a 1-ounce spinnerbait if you are fishing deeper than 20 feet in slightly stained water.

A Colorado blade is round, wide and short, which makes the blade produce a cupping action to displace more water. The popular willowleaf blades are longer and narrower, which makes these blades lift the spinnerbait better and run it at higher speeds. I prefer throwing a spinnerbait with a single Colorado blade rather than a tandem blade model because the tandem blades tend to bump into each other when slow-rolling the lure whereas the single blade can spin freely on the wire arm.

An extremely slow retrieve is the key to drawing strikes from bass in cold-water situations. The trick is to reel just fast enough to make the lure move and the blade barely spin but slow enough so the blade bait stays close to the bottom and constantly ticks the rocks. Slowly rolling the blade bait along the bottom imitates a sluggish baitfish, which to a bass looks like an easy meal.

The slow-rolling big spinnerbait is also preferable to a heavyweight bass because those fish want a big meal during the winter. Their slowed-down metabolism causes big bass to eat less frequently so they like to target an easy big prey when the water is cold.

Mild winter days with lots of sunshine are ideal for slow-rolling a spinnerbait in dirty water less than 10 feet deep. The best areas to throw the Colorado blade bait in these weather conditions are chunk rock, gravel or clay banks. During a cold front, the fish will move deeper so try slow-rolling the 1-ounce spinnerbait along creek channels and ledges.